One person was killed and two others injured when a tuberculosis patient in a general ward of Bombay Hospital allegedly went into a rampage early Monday morning and hit three other patients with a rod used as a stand to hold saline bottles. Police said the motive for the attack remained unknown.

The deceased has been identified as Lalbihari Thakur, a 62-year-old driver living in Sion. Prafulchand Parmar (70) and Janardhan Arte (66) were injured in the attack, said hospital management.

According to police, the suspect, Shahabuddin Talukdar, was admitted in the hospital on May 8. On Monday morning, he went into a fit of rage and hit Thakur on his head, before running into another ward and hitting the two other patients. While the two patients sustained minor injuries, Thakur succumbed to his wounds afterwards, said police.

According to Bombay hospital’s spokesperson Dr Sagar Sakle, Talukdar, was brought for treatment of tuberculosis of brain.

After the incident, he was taken in police custody and shifted to state-run J J Hospital. Talukdar has been charged with murder. “We are getting a medical opinion on him. We have also asked doctors if Talukdar is fit to record his statements,” said Ravindra Shisve, Deputy Commissioner of Police, Zone I.

According to experts, TB drugs have side-effects, which include hallucination, depression and anxiety. In this case, Talukdar was taking dosages which led to aggression and sudden mood swings.

“He was immediately brought under control by security guards, ward boys and nurses. They used an injection to induce sleep. But, by then, he had already injured three patients,” Sakle said.

Pankaj Thakur, the son of the deceased, said, “My father was admitted a month ago for treatment of TB in lungs. A week ago, doctors informed us he also had lung cancer. My mother was sent by the nurse to buy medicines when the incident happened. She returned to find my father bleeding profusely.”

Pankaj, who was not present at the time of incident, later demanded that the police lodge an FIR against the hospital as well. Police, however, did not oblige.